The hardest albums to review are the ones which are only “half good.” Trying to critically evaluate an album that goes completely in one direction or the other ('good' or 'bad') is always preferable because there's an economy in it; if it's possible to unilaterally paint an album one color, it's possible to be succinct. If a record has close to an equal number of 'good' and 'bad' tracks though, it's guaranteed to take longer to work through because the possibility of speaking in absolutes evaporates. That's the first big problem with Comedown Machine (the sixth album by The Strokes); there are songs on it which qualify as some of the best music the band has ever made, but there are also some songs on it which rank as some of the worst in their catalogue too.
Yes, Comedown Machine is difficult and it proves that fact right away as “Tap Out” opens the album on a less than stellar note. There, The Strokes prove that they are not the masters of all fashion as a clunky disco rhythm combines with the stock, indie-pop guitars that the band has been defaulting to for years and fall perfectly flat because the result is stiff and rigid and quickly ends up just sounding stale. That unfortunate trend continues through “One Way Trigger,” “Welcome To Japan” and the album's title track in pretty short, sequential order (other than the great Is This It throwback “All The Time,” the whole first half of the album is a write-off) and listeners will find themselves wondering just how much time they'll have to put into this album before they'll be able to announce it a failure.
…And that's when The Strokes turn their fortunes completely around and start to soar with (the ironically entitled) “50/50.”
On “50/50,” all of a sudden The Strokes seems to start tightening up and improving their angles for Comedown Machine. There, the washes of synthesizers which really screw up the first half of the album as well as all the other disposable frills which hobbled it until this point spontaneously vanish and the band emerges flaunting a sound which incorporates elements of the best albums from throughout The Strokes' career to date (the classic indie/punk/pop of Is This It, the harder and of First Impressions of Earth and the sort of new wave-y bent of Angles) which is instantly satisfying. As soon as they've made that ground, the band just keeps pressing its advantage from there; through this second half, Julian Casablancas remains locked in his natural vocal register (which he seemed to be completely opposed to on the first half of the record) while the really awkward sounding keyboards which dogged songs like “One Way Trigger” are placed deeper in the mix while the guitars which were featured so prominently on First Impressions Of Earth before shine through brightly. Longtime fans will find they've been won over easily by this second half and they'll quickly forget the rough start they had to endure in order to hear the prime cuts in this album's later running. After “Happy Ending” dishes out one last solid, new wave-y anthem, The Strokes throw out one curve ball in the form of the incredibly low-fi “Call It Fate, Call It Karma” to close the record, and The Strokes depart to let listeners try and digest what they were just subjected to.
But what were they subjected to exactly? True, Comedown Machine has some great moments which prove that The Strokes aren't completely past their prime quite yet, but there's no denying that the record is far from perfect – so is this the transitional record where The Strokes really begin to go downhill, or is it the dalliance which will be corrected on whatever comes next? Only the band's next album will prove that for sure but, in the meantime, readers have to make a decision about Comedown Machine: they must decide if really enjoying six out of the eleven songs on this album is enough. Is footing the bill for a full-length album but only getting an EP's worth of good material worth it? Each fan will have to decide that for themselves.
Artist:
www.thestrokes.com/
www.myspace.com/thestrokes
www.facebook.com/thestrokes
www.twitter.com/thestrokes
Album:
Comedown Machine is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
